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Applied Power

A massive boycott sparked by the NRA and other gun-rights groups outraged that the nation’s largest outdoors show banned the exhibition of assault weapons has caused the show’s organizers to abruptly cancel the week-long event in Harrisburg, Pa.

The successful boycott was the biggest demonstration of support by the outdoors industry and outdoorsmen yet against gun control efforts being pushed in Washington and in several states.

It’s also a sign that the Administration’s attempt to drive a wedge between “sportsmen” and defense shooters is failing.

The show is the biggest in the nation and features several outdoors groups, hundreds of exhibitors and the most popular TV hunting show stars. It draws thousands from the Washington-Baltimore area. As the assault rifle ban became known, exhibitors, sponsors and the TV stars withdrew by the dozens.

The NRA is a huge sponsor of the show and pulled out Tuesday after Reed moved to ban assault rifles like Bushmasters and AR-15s at the show. A Bushmaster was used in the Newtown, Conn., shootings, according Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance, and Reed said it was bowing to concerns about the gun in banning it from the show.

Real Americans know that guns are inanimate objects.

The rest of the right could learn a lesson or two from the Second Amendment movement; fire the Beltway consultants and do what’s right, for starters.

I appreciate that even the Bow Hunters bowed out at the cost of making a qualifying event of theirs far more complicated to stage.

swiftee, I stopped by Fleet Farm to pick up some supplies a couple days ago and they were running that video near the firearms counter and I told the clerk I appreciated the message. He said they’d been getting a lot of that lately. Meanwhile, I’ve still got my eye on this concealed carry Ruger I’m trying to convince my wife she should get me for my birthday…

The Bill of Rights offers much more effective and less costly checks on government power. There is the fourth amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure; the fifth amendment, which guarantees due process; the sixth amendment, which establishes fair trials; and so on. When these rights were hollowed out during the war on terror—by acts of Congress, the courts and even through executive orders—where was the outrage from those who see tyranny in every gun law?

The second amendment has a lizard-brain appeal: it is sexier to imagine yourself a lone soldier for justice defending your loved ones against an oppressive, tyrannical government than it is to imagine yourself protesting warrantless wiretapping. I wonder if you had the same response to the Patriot Act.